Coffee Beans
by xhiddendreamx
Summary: Coffee Shop AU. Katie Gardner moves to Campton, Long Island to pursue a journalism job at Olympus Magazine. Before she jumps into that job, she must get her hold on the city and earn some cash. What better place to earn quick money at than a coffee shop, right? The only thing bad about the city so far would have to be the bartender Travis Stoll.
1. Welcome to the City, Katie

**Hello! I've always wanted to do some kind of AU so I guess I'm starting now. It's summer time so… why not!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything remotely awesome as PJO**

* * *

Katie Gardner walked into The Flying Shoes Coffee Shop, blowing some snow inside the heated up room. It was a quaint place. The coffee shop logo, a pair of winged shoes, hung right next to the glass door and windows made up the front and right wall. The coffee shop stood at the corner of two streets, in a city on Long Island.

The heat of the indoors warmed her chilled body and Katie unwrapped the scarf around her neck and took off her hat. She inhaled the strong scent of coffee beans. As she was combing through her unruly hair, she scanned the shop for a place to sit. There were couches and armchairs scattered throughout, with small tables accompanying each one. Lamps hung from the ceiling, though not that well lit.

Katie walked up to an empty armchair and claimed it by dropping her scarf, hat, and gloves on it. She put her warm hands on her cheeks in an attempt to return the heat to then. Katie made her way to the counter, waiting for her turn to be served. She was the eighth person in line, which seemed like a bit much. The coffee shop was filled. She was lucky enough to find an empty armchair. Katie breathed on her hands as she waited in line.

"Cold out, isn't it?" A voice said to her. Katie looked up from her hands and turned to the person who had spoken. She had black hair and enticingly blue eyes. Her smile showed all of her perfectly white teeth. Her cheeks were the perfect shade of pink, unlike Katie's, whose cheeks and nose were pinched red from the frost. She wore a light pink coat that looked like it wouldn't shield her from any cold. The girl was also two inches taller than Katie because of her high heeled boots. Katie wasn't used to people talking to her in line at a coffee shop. In her old town, the people in line were as social as hermits at a meet and greet. Since this girl was being nice to her, Katie felt the need to give her a reply.

"Is it always like this?" Katie asked, giving a short and haste laugh. The girl smiled wider and moved up the line. Katie followed her.

"Kind of. It starts snowing in November, but usually not this early in the month," the girl said.

"That's really early," Katie said.

"November? What are you used to?" the girl asked.

"Late December, usually. Lately, in my old town, we haven't been having that many white Christmases," Katie said. She wrapped her coat tighter around her even though she wasn't that cold anymore.

"Are you new here?" the girl asked, turning her head to the side.

"Yeah. I just moved in yesterday from Indiana. I still have boxes scattered around my apartment," Katie said. She paused. "Oh! My name's Katie Gardner, by the way." The girl held her hand out.

"I'm Silena Beauregard," she said. Katie took her hand and shook it. The girl turned around to the counter and moved up three spaces.

Just then, the glass door flew open and a guy with shaggy black hair and wearing a ski jacket barreled in and hopped over the counter. He shrugged off his jacket and threw it in the back room. He wore a navy blue button up shirt like the rest of the bartenders, but his was wrinkled and wasn't buttoned correctly.

"Percy!" called another guy's voice. Katie thought that it was the guy at the cash register. She couldn't see his face through the people's heads in front of her, but she assumed he was the one that spoke. "You're late again! What have we been telling you about coming to work late- especially when your shift is at this hour! Do you know how hard it is to work with my brother?"

"Sorry!" Percy muttered, getting right to work. He jumped to one of the coffee grinders and started pouring some coffee beans inside. "I was busy."

"With Annabeth?" the voice said playfully.

"Actually, no. With Mrs. O'Leary," Percy said over the _wrrring_ noise from the coffee grinder, "I just picked her up from Annabeth's house." The other voice chuckled and Percy smiled. Katie assumed that he was forgiven for coming to work late.

"-So," Silena said, pulling Katie out from the other conversation, "Why did you move to Campton?"

"Well," Katie said, "I love nature-"

"Wait, are you here for the job opening in Olympus Magazine?" Silena asked, interrupting her suddenly by holding up her hands as if she was guessing for charades. Silena was as perky and cheerful as a Chihuahua after it drank a double shot of espresso.

"Yes, I'm hoping to get the job in the nature section, but first I have to get a different job, just to get my hold on this place and earn some money," Katie said, "I just got a degree in journalism, so I hope they might find me suitable enough." The nature section had articles and pictures about agriculture, different plant species, scientific modifications of nature, and beautiful places in nature.

Silena opened her mouth to say something else, but then there was a short whistle behind her. The two turned to the source and found the very annoyed cashier staring pointedly at Silena. He had curly brown hair. His face seemed tired, but somehow managed to make a permanent smirk. His eyes were deep blue and had a glint of mischievous and playfulness in them. Silena gave a short giggle and apologized to the cashier who didn't say anything. He just tapped his pencil on the cash register, impatiently waiting for her to order.

"I would like a caffe latte and a skinny cappuccino," Silena told the guy, counting off her fingers. She turned to Katie and said, "I'm bringing one to my boyfriend." Katie nodded and the girl turned back to the cash register.

"Anything else?" the boy asked.

"What do you suggest, Travis?" Silena asked, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. Travis was typing something into his computer even though Silena hadn't ordered anything yet. Travis looked up.

"Silena, I know what you're going to order next, so why would I even suggest anything else?" the boy said.

"Two lemon scones and one potato bagel," Silena said as if she was challenging him.

"Already done," Travis stated, a triumphant smile dashed his features. He was already looking past Silena and at Katie. Katie walked up to the counter and shuffled through her purse, looking for her wallet.

"I'll see you around, okay?" Silena said, giving Katie a quick tap. Katie waved goodbye to her and Silena walked further down the counter to pick up her drinks.

"Um, I would like an espresso macchiato," Katie said. Travis raised an eyebrow and typed something into his computer.

"Energetic," he remarked.

"Yeah, well. I need the energy. I just moved into town and spent the entire night unpacking boxes. The only thing that was keeping me awake was music that I was playing through my ipod."

"I think I might need one too. One of my neighbors was keeping me up all night," Travis said. Katie fished her wallet from her purse and placed it on the counter in front of her.

"Anything else?" Travis asked.

"Um…" Katie hesitated. Travis rolled his eyebrows and turned away from her.

"She had all this time to decide what she wanted, but she was too busy blabbering with Silena. Women," Travis whispered to Percy. Percy couldn't hear him over the grinding coffee beans, but Katie sure could. Katie's mouth opened in shock at the rudeness he was expressing, but she told herself to remain cool. She needed to be on his good side after what she was going to suggest.

"No, I would not like anything else. Thank you," Katie muttered hotly.

"You can go further down the counter to pick up your drink," Travis said.

"My name's Katie," she said. Travis looked up at her surprised.

"And I'm Travis Stoll," Travis said, tapping the badge pinned to his navy blue shirt. "It was nice meeting you, Katie, but if you would move along-" He started to brush her off.

"I was wondering if you had a job opening," Katie said. Behind her, there were a few grumbles of disdain.

"Look, sweetheart, I'm sure you're very nice, and you don't mean to clog up the line-"

"I was just wondering if there was a job opening," Katie said, placing her hands on her hips.

"Katie, you have a very pretty face. If you don't move along, those people behind you are going to rip that pretty face off. Perhaps you should come back when it isn't rush hour," Travis said, giving her a smirk.

Katie's cheeks flamed up. She wanted to slap that smirk off his face.

"Can I cut in?" Percy said, stepping in front of Travis. He smiled at Katie. "We're not sure if there are any job openings, but we can ask our manager for you if you want," he said. His sea green eyes were so comforting and kind. Katie slowly relaxed and her temper subsided.

"Thank you," Katie said, handing him a twenty.

"No problem," Percy said, fishing out her change and handing her the coffee he was working on. He then walked away from the register and Travis retook his post.

"Welcome to the city, Katie," Travis told her. Katie didn't acknowledge his welcome. She walked up to her armchair and picking up her gloves, hat, and scarf, not wanting to stick around anymore. She walked out the shop with the feeling of a pair of eyes on her as she left. Behind her, she could hear a low chuckle.

* * *

Katie ended up wandering around the city- thinking about the meaning of life, or why she specifically was put on this earth. How incredibly mortal and fragile humans are and how ridiculous that they care for such mundane things… Actually, no. She just got really lost.

Katie did manage to find the Olympus Magazine building. It had an uncanny similarity in architecture with the Empire State Building in New York. She stared up at the skyscraper in awe, yet content. "I'm going to work there someday," she said to no one in particular.

"Where do you wish to work?" A voice asked from nearby her. Katie didn't turn to see who had spoken. She thought she was just having a conversation inside her mind.

"I want to write articles for the nature section- that one's my favorite. I hope to be that person that goes to incredible places in nature and writes an article about it. I want to help people realize how incredible beautiful the earth is," Katie said. She shoved her hands in her coat pockets and fingered her apartment keys.

She always loved reading articles about incredible places in nature. She usually dog-tailed her issue of Olympus Magazine to that page or just cut and kept only the single. She was incredibly upset when the latest few issues of Olympus Magazine had no articles about that, but her sorrow was melted into hope when she found out that the journalist got fired. She had a chance to become part of the thing she so admired! Of course she moved to Campton in Long Island.

"That's so incredibly relieving. I thought you were going to say my job," the voice said. Katie then realized that she wasn't talking to a voice in her head. She turned to her left and found a man in a pinstriped suit, staring up at the building like she just was. His gaze wasn't filled with awe, like hers was. It was full of pride.

Katie's eyes widened as she realized who she was speaking to. "Mr. Zeus!" she cried, backing away from him for a few steps. She staggered. She couldn't believe that she was just casually talking with the founder and president of Olympus Magazine! "Mr. President!" she yelled before she could stop herself. Katie felt the sudden urge to bow to his feet. Mr. Zeus gave her a strange smile.

"What is your name?" he asked stoically. He had salt and pepper hair which made him seem so much older and wiser.

"Katie Gardner," she said, trying to act cool and collected. Mr. Zeus fished inside his wallet.

"Well, Katie. If you are interested in the job, give me a call. I think you're an interesting girl," Zeus said, handing her his card. Katie stared at the gold lettering in awe. She looked up to thank him, but Mr. Zeus got a call on his cell phone and started to walk in the building.

"Wait! Mr. Zeus!" Katie called. The man turned around to face her.

"I'm a bit lost. Would you mind directing me to the Cabin Line Apartments?" Katie asked. Zeus said something into his phone and walked up to the edge of the street and hailed a cab. He stuck his head inside the window and told the driver where to go. He waved a goodbye to Katie and disappeared into the Olympus Magazine Building.

Once Katie was inside the car, the driver grunted and sped off. Katie tucked Mr. Zeus' card inside her wallet, careful not to wrinkle or fold the edges.

* * *

"We're here," the driver's gruff voice said. Katie leaned over and paid the man her money. She walked out of the cab and turned back to the cabbie.

"I hope you have a nice day," she told him. The guy stared at her for a while before laughing.

"Thanks kid, I hope you have one too," the man said, still laughing. Even after he drove off, Katie didn't understand what the humor of it was.

Katie walked up to her apartment building complex and opened the door, being greeted with the warm air from the heater. Next to the door were the mailboxes for each apartment. Katie was alone except for another man with curly brown hair that was digging through his mail.

Katie walked up next to him and unlocked the mailbox he had opened. She was hit by a sudden scent of coffee beans. The man gave her a sideways glance before doing a double take. Katie slowly turned over to him and saw his scrutinizing expression.

"I know you from somewhere," he said. Katie frowned. Unlike him, she remembered who he was.

"Hello, Travis," she said. "I'm Katie. I just moved to town, remember?" Did he always smell of coffee beans? Katie hated to admit that she kind of like it.

"Oh! I remember you! Percy wanted me to tell you that there weren't any more job openings," Travis said bluntly. He started walking up the stairs to his apartment. Katie felt disappointment through her body. Travis turned around and put a finger to his chin thoughtfully. "He also said something about being nice and not being to blunt…" Travis said.

Katie's fists clenched and she grabbed her mail. After she locked her mailbox, she stomped up beside him on the steps. "It's fine. I don't need you to sugar coat anything," Katie said. Travis looked at her surprised.

"Why are you so upset?" he asked. Katie exhaled hotly. Was he that clueless?

"No reason," she muttered, trying to get away from him.

"Oh, okay," Travis shrugged, brushing off the subject of her rejection of the job.

_It's fine, _Katie told herself, _Mr. Zeus gave me his card. That has to mean something. I might actually have a future at Olympus Magazine. Who cares about some stupid coffee shop job. I'll just go to another coffee shop until they hire me._

"…Why are you following me?" Travis' voice asked from behind her. Katie turned around and stared at him.

"What?"

"Are you following me?"

"You're actually behind me. I think that means that you are following _me," _Katie said. Travis paused.

"What floor are you on?" he asked.

"Four."

"Same."

"Well I guess we're stuck together for two more floors," Katie said. For the rest of the way up, she ignored him by thinking about how many more boxes she had to unpack. Against her will, she gave out a soft groan.

"What's wrong?" Travis asked.

"I'm probably going to have to stay up all night again unpacking," Katie said.

"I'll get the espresso ready for you in the morning," Travis told her with a wink. Katie walked up the rest of the way with the feeling of his eyes on her back. What was his deal?

When they got to their floor, Katie started walked to the right and Travis turned to the left.

"I guess this is it," Travis said.

"See you," Katie told him, walking farther down the hall.

She surveyed the room numbers, realizing that they were growing instead of diminishing. She had gone the wrong way. Katie sighed and turned around, walking to the left of the staircase. Looking at the apartment door numbers, she found her way to the door that was to the right of Travis'.

"Well isn't this funny," Travis said, putting a hand on his hip.

"Hilarious," Katie muttered, fishing out her key.

"Wait!" Travis yelled, "Were you the one that was blaring music all night long?"

"Yes…" Katie said.

"Ah ha! You were the annoying neighbor! Don't be so loud tonight. I need my beauty sleep," Travis said.

"And a lot of it," Katie whispered. Travis opened his apartment door. Before he walked inside, he pointed a singled finger at her and looked her straight in the eye.

"I mean it," he said. Then, he shut the door.

* * *

Katie put her ipod on her stereo and turned the volume up almost all of the way, to annoy Travis of course. She got a glass of ice water for her to drink- or for her to splash on her face if she ever felt tired. She got out her scissors and walked up to the first box. She stabbed the scissor at it as if it was some mythological monster and her scissors were her knife.

This went on for two hours when a banging came on her door. Katie paused her ipod and unlocked the door to find a very angry Travis Stoll. Katie held her scissors up in case she needed protecting. Travis lifted his hand up to reveal another pair of scissor. Katie was starting to think that they would have to fence each other with scissor, but instead, he shoved past her and entered her apartment. He went up to the first box he saw and started cutting it open.

"Are you going to help me?" Travis asked. Katie snapped out of her trance and unpaused her ipod. That was the night Travis helped Katie move into the city.

* * *

**I must say that I am pretty proud of this piece of writing. I hope you guys like it too. Sorry for taking such a long break. No matter how long I leave, I will love you reviewers forever! Hugs**

**~ xhiddendreamx**


	2. Meet the Gang

**Welcome to the second chapter of ****Coffee Beans. ****I must say that this chapter is quite long because I got a little ahead of myself. In this chapter, you get to meet the gang, so that's cool! I meant to upload this a day after I posted the first chapter (kind of like an apology as to not updating my other stories in months) but I just kept adding and adding and adding… so.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO (BTW: Have you guys seen the House of Hades book cover? AMAZING! I am seriously so excited) (PS: The movie looks really good too. Much better than the first one. I have faith).**

* * *

Nothing really happened the night Travis came over to help unpack Katie's boxes. They didn't talk much, for if they did, yelling would ensue and scissors would be flying, and neither of them wanted that. However, they did make some small talk and they both learned a few new things about each other.

Katie learned that Travis wasn't the only one living in the apartment next to hers. He lived with his younger brother, Connor. Connor was one year younger than Travis, but people still insisted that they looked like twins. When Katie asked why Connor wasn't bothered by the loud music, Travis said that if a war started happening on Long Island, Connor would still find a way to sleep through it. Connor also worked at The Flying Shoes Coffee Shop. Travis also mentioned how his mom and dad were divorced. He lived with his mother because he preferred her over his father. He said that his father was a pilot, and he traveled all over the world. His family eventually found out that his father had another wife somewhere else in the world and had another son named Luke.

"I haven't heard from him since," Travis said. Katie stared at him warily. He acted like he wasn't hurt at all.

"Are you okay with that?" Katie asked slowly. Travis lifted his head up from the box and turned to face her. When he did, Katie quickly looked down.

"Yes. I mean, I guess I thought we were happy before we found out about his other family, but… it's better that we know now. I'm glad my mom knows the truth," Travis said. Katie stopped cutting and looked up at him admirably.

"You care about your mother, don't you?" she asked. Travis' mouth twitched into a small smile before he pointed his scissors at her.

"What? Like you don't?" he asked.

"Actually… I don't have a mom. She had me, and then got the heck out of there. It's just me and my dad." Katie watched as his smile slowly faded and he dropped his pointed scissors. Katie moved over to another box on the separate side of the room. Travis coughed.

"Have you made any new friends lately?" he asked.

"Only Silena… but I'm not sure if I can call her a friend," Katie said. Travis didn't say anything for a while. The two unpacked in silence as Katie's ipod blasted some of her favorite songs.

Katie got up and strolled over to the bathroom. From the corner of her eye, she could see Travis watching her go. When she got inside, Katie grabbed a hair tie and pulled her brown hair up into a ponytail. Her green eyes stared at her in the mirror. _What was he even doing here?_ Katie asked herself. _Why is he acting so nice?_ After washing her face, Katie walked back to the living room and started unpacking again.

"How long have you been working at The Flying Shoes?" Katie asked.

"About three years. I came here for college and got a job as the 'cleaning boy', or janitor. Later, I got upgraded to bartender because of my popularity with the regulars," Travis said.

"Do you have a lot of friends that work there?" Katie asked.

"Not many. Most of my friends come in the morning- when it isn't too busy- and we just hang out," Travis said. Katie nodded in response. After finishing the box she was on, Katie stood up and scanned the room. The only boxes that were still unopened were the ones next to Travis.

"What song is this?" Travis asked as Katie kneeled down next to him. She caught another whiff of coffee beans. Unconsciously, she leaned a little closer towards him and took deeper breaths.

"Uh, nothing you would know. It's by my friend in Indiana. She likes to write songs in her free time," Katie told him.

"What's her name?" Travis asked.

"Kayla Sonne," Katie said.

"She has a lovely voice." Travis spoke softly. Katie's hands clenched her scissors tightly. Giving him a quick glance, Katie tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. Travis had been cutting the tape off of the same box for over ten minutes.

"Yeah?" she said as she stabbed a cardboard box. Travis nodded. After violently ripping the tape off of her box, Katie dropped her scissors on the ground and walked up to her ipod. She pressed the replay button and turned the volume up all of the way.

As she sat back down, Travis gave her a look. "What? You said Connor could sleep through anything. Plus, if the other neighbors are annoyed, they would've come and complained long ago," Katie said. Travis just shrugged and started humming along to Kayla's song.

Once they finished all of the boxes, which ended up being at two in the morning, Travis slowly stood up from his spot. He moved very slug-like to the door. Katie assumed that it was because he was very sleepy- she was too. Katie stood at her apartment door as Travis looked at her from out in the hallway.

"I'll see you when I see you, Katie," he said. His words were slurred and hard to comprehend. It seemed like he said 'cutie' instead of 'Katie'. Katie shook her head of that thought. Travis gave a loud yawn and rubbed her eyes.

"Thanks for helping me, Travis," Katie said. She leaned over and shut off her music. "I won't be keeping you up any longer." Travis nodded to Katie and walked to the apartment next to hers. Katie quietly shut the door and fell onto her bed, immediately falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

"One chiaro cappuccino please," Katie told the bartender. He punched her order into the computer. "Oh, by the way, Travis," Katie said. The bartender looked up at her confused. Katie reached into her purse and pulled out his scissors, "You forgot your scissors at my apartment last night." She placed the scissors on the counter and pushed them over to his side.

"What was my brother doing at your apartment last night?" the bartender asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Your brother?" Katie asked. Then it dawned on her. This boy had slightly shorter hair that Travis. His eyes were smaller, and Travis was quite a bit taller than her while the bartender was only an inch. "Are you Connor?" she asked. Connor nodded. Katie started laughing, trying to hide her embarrassment. "Oh! Travis was right! You two do look like twins," Katie remarked.

"And he told you this... at your apartment… last _night," _Connor said.

"Oh!" Katie exclaimed, waving her hand dismissively, "It's not what you think. I just moved into town. I'm Katie Gardner," she said, holding out her hand for him to shake. He did. "I live in the apartment to the right of yours. My loud music woke him up so he came over to help me unpack my boxes."

"I do remember him complaining yesterday about annoying neighbors…" Connor mused.

"I guess that would be me," she said. Percy then walked over and handed her a mug of coffee.

"Hey, you're Katie, right?" Percy asked. "You're the girl that was about to slap Travis! He's out back if you want to give it a go," he said playfully. He leaned over and whispered to her, "I just didn't want to cause a scene. There aren't many people here now, so I suppose giving him a beat down wouldn't be too much of a problem. Sometimes he needs to be put into check every once in a while." Katie laughed and Percy smiled, standing back up straight. Katie took a turn around the room. There actually weren't that many people around here. Only two people sat at one of the tables in the far corner. They were both silent and on their laptops. It was just thirty minutes after the shop had opened.

"It's fine, I guess. I suppose we're on friendly terms now," Katie said. Percy just shrugged and Connor elbowed him in the forearm. "What are you doing here so early?" Katie asked, handing Connor the money for her coffee. "Aren't you the one that's always late?"

"I usually don't work in the early morning. My starting time is lunch time. However, I have to make up for my tardiness yesterday… and the three days before, so I'm working mornings for the next week," Percy said. Connor handed Katie her change and receipt. Travis then walked out of the back room wearing his coffee shop uniform. Katie was unsure as to why she blushed and felt the need to get away.

"Um, I'll see you two later. Oh, and Connor, can you give Travis his scissors?" Katie asked. She turned around and walked over to an armchair that was quite a ways away from the counter. As she was walking, Katie heard Percy's and Connor's goodbyes.

"Here are your scissors," Katie heard Connor say from the counter. She didn't turn back to look at Travis' reaction, but instead, she pulled out her writing notebook and grabbed the latest edition of Olympus Magazine. She flipped through the pages until she got to the nature section. Finding an interesting article, Katie wondered if it was alright if she could rip the page out.

"Need this?" Travis' voice said, waving his pair of scissor in front of her nose. She turned around to see Travis and his smiling face, leaning on the back of her chair nonchalantly.

"Is that okay?" Katie asked. Travis shrugged.

"Probably not. I do remember you telling me that you like to collect articles, so I guess I could just cover for you," Travis said. Katie grabbed his scissors and started snipping around her article of choice. Meanwhile, Travis made himself comfortable on her armrest and leaned slightly on her shoulder. Tossing the magazine back on the coffee table, Katie tucked the article inside the pages of her writing notebook.

"What's this?" Travis asked, plucking the brown, leather bound book from her hands. Katie panicked and jumped up from her chair, pushing Travis off of the armrest. He gave a yelp in surprise and fell in a heap on the ground. Before he could open up her book, Katie made a mad dash for it and tried to pry it out of his hands.

"Give it back! Don't you dare read what's inside!" Katie cried. She jumped on Travis' stomach as she tried to reach for the book he was so desperately keeping away from her.

"Why?" Travis asked laughing, "Is it your diary or something?" Katie scowled as she saw how hard he was laughing.

"You're getting a real kick out of this, aren't you?" Katie asked, reaching for her book again.

"Of course I am. A pretty girl is straddling my body trying to get her _diary,"_ Travis taunted her. Katie blushed red and groaned.

"What are you? Eight?" she got up from his body and leaped for her book, which he moved away from her reach. "Stop being immature and give it to me!" Travis cackled and started rolling on the carpet floor, to the dismay of Katie. "Travis! Stop it right now!"

Travis didn't stop. In fact, he kept on rolling until he banged into the table Katie had placed her mug of chiaro cappuccino. It tipped, and everything moved to slow motion. Slowly, the mug fell on its side and Travis tried to roll out of the way. Katie panicked at the sight of her notebook being in the line of attack. In the last second before the coffee fell onto him, Travis chucked her book as far as he could, and then he got a face full of hot coffee.

"OW!" Travis yelled, sitting upright. "My skin is sizzling!" Katie rushed over to her book, plucking it from the ground, then ran over to Travis who was still yelling.

"Come with me," Katie said softly, slowly helping Travis stand. Connor had run over and was busy trying to get the coffee out of the carpet. Katie walked Travis over to the counter.

"Percy, where is a sink I can wash him off in?" Katie asked. Percy pointed a thumb out to the doors that led to the back room.

"It should be the first thing on your right," he said. Percy lifted up the divider and let Katie and Travis past the counter. Katie muttered a thanks to him and went back to shushing Travis.

Katie pushed aside the double doors and quickly found the sink. Katie sat Travis down on the corner of the sink and grabbed a washcloth. She ran it over cool water and moved Travis' hands away from his eyes, checking out the damage.

"Where does it hurt?" Katie asked him, hesitantly touching the tender skin around his eyes. They were both squeezed shut and had turned a shade of red that should only be reserved for the cheeks and tomatoes.

"Ah," Travis winced, "Where you just pressed." Katie touched that spot again and he cringed. "Please don't do that anymore.

"What this?" Katie asked, taunting him. Immediately, Travis' hand went up to shield his face. Katie let out a snicker as he slowly put his hand down, realizing that she was teasing him.

"Ha ha." Katie pressed the cool cloth on his eyes. "Ow!" Travis yelled in surprise. Katie grabbed onto his shoulder to prevent him from falling off the sink.

She couldn't help herself from realizing that Travis had some pretty strong shoulders. Since Travis couldn't see, she took that time to check him out. He had broad shoulders, which Katie really liked in a guy. Katie noted that he got most of his height from his long legs. His hair was a caramel brown and Katie just wanted to run her hands through it. Travis wasn't that bad of a looker.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you are checking me out right now," Travis said, his mouth forming a smirk. Katie frowned. His personality was a major turnoff, however. He was just so cocky and obnoxious! His smirk made her want to scream.

"In a good way or a bad way?" Travis teased.

"What?" Katie asked, snapping out of her train of thought.

"Does my smirk make you scream in a good way?" Travis asked, purposefully smirking. Katie scoffed and let go of his shoulder so fast that you would think he was as hot as a stovetop that had poison ivy. Katie dropped the washcloth from his face.

"Try to open your eyes," she commanded.

"Yes m'am," Travis said, smiling. Katie rolled her eyes and turned away from him. She ran the wash cloth back under cool water and grabbed a long chain of paper towels. She turned around to say something to him, but her words got caught in her throat as she saw a bright blue orb staring back at her.

"Um, hold still," she ordered, snapping out of whatever she was in. Katie held the washcloth to the eye that was still shut and used to chain of paper towels to keep the washcloth in place- kind of like a mock eye patch.

"How does that feel? Will it stay?" Katie asked. Travis shook his head for a few seconds.

"Yeah, I think it'll work… Do I have to go out in public with this?" Travis whined.

"Yes," Katie said, pointing a finger at him and staring him down. He gave a loud sigh and stood up from the sink. Katie started heading for the door, but Travis held her arm before she could reach it.

"Thanks for treating my eyes. I really appreciate it," Travis said, giving her an award winning smile. "Even though you were kind of the cause of the injury in the first place," He told her, knowing that she would be provoked.

"Uh huh," Katie squeaked, quickly turning away from him. Her heart was beating slightly faster- but only _slightly_. She pushed open the doors and Travis followed her out to the shop.

Instead of the empty shop filled with only two people, a group of people seemed to have wandered their way inside at this hour (taking Katie's seat, I might add). They were laughing and talking- creating quite a noise- and they looked like they were having a good time. Percy and Connor stood by the group. Connor was passing out some coffees and pasties on a tray and Percy had his arm around some blonde girl's chair. When Travis saw them, he grabbed Katie's hand and pulled her to the group.

When Travis and Katie reached the group, a really big and buff girl with brown stringy hair in a bandanna started singing _He's a Pirate._ Travis crossed his arms and frowned as Connor and some guy with crutches wearing a rasta cap joined in with her.

"Stop it Clarisse," Silena said, reaching over a big African American guy she was holding hands with. She gave the girl named Clarisse a soft smack and sunk back into the guy's arms. Percy started laughing with the Rasta Cap Guy and the blonde haired girl just rolled her eyes.

Katie started feeling a bit uncomfortable, like she was intruding on an inside joke between best friends. Katie gave a small cough, about to grab her bag from the blonde's chair and leave, but then Silena turned her head and gave a squeal.

"Katie!" Silena yelled, jumping up from the couch to wrap Katie in her arms.

"Oh! Hi, Silena," Katie said, trying her best not to be uncomfortable.

"Come sit with me!" she said, excitedly.

"Um, actually," Katie said, starting to point to her bag, but Silena grabbed her arm and dragged her to the side of her on the couch that wasn't occupied by her boyfriend. Katie sat down, about to put her arm on the armrest next to her when Travis sat down on it and claimed it for himself.

"Everyone, this is Katie. We met at the shop yesterday," she said. Katie was showered by greetings and smiles. She shyly gave a small wave and beside her, Travis snickered under his breath. Katie turned and glared at him, contemplating on whether or not she should push him off of the armrest.

"This is Charlie, my boyfriend. I told you about him yesterday," Silena said, tapping the muscley guy who had his arms around her. He gave her a two fingered wave.

"Beckendorf," Travis whispered over to her.

"What?" She leaned towards him.

"No one calls him Charlie but Silena. Call him Beckendorf," Travis said. Katie nodded.

"This is Clarisse!" Silena said pointing to the girl with the bandanna.

"She's a total meathead," Travis stage whispered.

"I heard that," the girl growled. She started to get up, but the guy next to her grabbed her before she could.

"That's Chris, Clarisse's boyfriend," Silena said, giving a small smile.

"I'm not her boyfriend!" Chris said that at the same time Clarisse said, "Will you let it go, Princess?"

"He's totally into her," Travis whispered to Katie.

"The one with the goatee is Grover, Percy's best friend," Silena said.

"Wha- You guys are all my best friends," Percy said spreading his arms wide and giving a cheesy smile. The blonde girl gave Percy's stomach a small smack and he reached down and crushed her with a hug. Katie couldn't help but smile at their adorableness.

"He's a nature-enthusiast. You two would get along," Travis said, adding his commentary. He hushed his voice down. "He has a disease where he can't walk straight. That's why he has the crutches." Katie nodded, taking all of the information in.

"I already know Connor and Percy," Katie told Silena.

"Then I guess the last person is Annabeth. I think you can figure out that she and Percy are dating," Silena said. Annabeth gave Katie a wave.

"Total brainiac. She's always reading- crazy girl. Also, don't challenge her to anything, she will pulverize you," Travis added.

"So, how do you and Travis know each other?" Annabeth asked.

"Well, we're apartment neighbors," Katie said.

"But we actually met here," Travis interrupted.

"-And he was a total jerk," Katie countered.

"It was during rush hour!" Travis said, throwing his hands up. Beside her, Silena gave a small giggle and was staring intently at the two single people, her mind reeling.

"Right… well, can I have my bagel to go? I have… uh, a job interview," Grover said, grabbing a bagel and some cream cheese off of Connor's tray. He stuck the bagel in his mouth and used his crutches to lift himself on his feet.

"Oh? Where?" Beckendorf asked. Grover took a bite of his bagel.

"Nowhere. It's secret. Don't ask about it… alright, bye," Grover said hastily. He stuck the rest of his bagel in his mouth and walked out the shop, leaving the little bell by the door ringing.

"Why do you guys come here so early?" Katie asked.

"We're all busy people. We have jobs and things to do," Connor said.

"-Blogs to write," Silena added.

"-Equipment to sell," Chris said.

"-People to train," Clarisse said.

"-We're just really busy people," Travis said.

Katie turned to the clock in the corner of the room. 9:10. Forty minutes have passed. Katie mentally scolded herself. She was just supposed to get some breakfast and leave!

"I have to go," she said, jumping off of the couch. Katie walked over to Annabeth's chair and pointed to the purse she was leaning against. "Mind if I get my bag?"

"Oh, this is yours?" Annabeth asked, jumping up and handing her the purse. "Well, by the way, I think you're a really talented writer. Your affinity for nature is just inspiring!" Katie guessed that Annabeth meant that as a compliment, but Katie couldn't help feel that her worst nightmare just become a reality.

"You read… my book- journal?" Katie stammered. Annabeth's face immediately fell, knowing that she somehow upset her.

"Did you not want me to?" Annabeth asked, "It was just sitting here on the chair and I wasn't sure whose it was, so I opened it to look for a name and-" Katie waved her hand dismissively.

"Um, it's fine. Did anyone else read it?" Katie asked, glancing at the group of people. Annabeth shook her head.

"No, just me. But if you're embarrassed, you really have nothing to worry about-"

"It's fine," Katie said. Travis craned his neck to look at the book sticking out Katie's purse curiously. "It's just that it's my writing notebook, and also my _journal_. I just don't want people reading it," Katie explained.

"Oh," Annabeth said, handing Katie her purse, "I'm sorry again." Katie put on her scarf and placed her hat on her hair. She shouldered her bag and waved goodbye to everyone. Stepping out into the cold, Katie pulled out the business card from her wallet. 3527 Delanor St. Katie put the card back where she held the rest of the business cards she collected.

"Great, it's nearby."

* * *

Grover managed to make his way through the thick snow without slipping. It also helped that his destination was very close by. Opening the clear glass door with the coffee shop name in the front, Grover stepped inside Juniper's Tea and Coffee. Glancing behind him hastily, he unwrapped the scarf that covered most of his face and re-positioned the rasta cap on his head.

"Grover!" he heard an excited voice yell.

Grover turned to the counter where a girl with orange hair and freckles, wearing a pine green apron, was cleaning. She dropped the rag on the counter and ducked under the divider. Grover had already started to make his way to her, but she met him halfway.

"Juniper," he said into her hair after she ran into his arms, nearly knocking him over.

She released him and pulled him over to the cherry wood counter. She pulled him behind the divider and past the glass containers and plates where numerous pastries were displayed. Juniper returned to her station at the register and started serving the person that was in line.

"That will be $4.55," Juniper told the man. She left the register only to find her other employee taking the order. She sighed.

"Thanks, Thalia," Juniper told the dark haired girl making the man's coffee. She turned back to the man. "You can wait down there and Thalia will give you your drink." The man left and Juniper started to serve the next person in line.

Grover leaned against the counter, careful not to disturb his girlfriend while she was working. He liked to take that time to admire her. Juniper was a lot like him. She was just as much into nature as he was. She was also sensitive and gentle, and didn't care that he wasn't all macho and such. She also always smelled of juniper- which was actually quite fitting. And he would know. One time, he went to a nature rally/outing that was in forest that was stocked with juniper plants. That outing was actually the place Grover and Juniper met. Grover sighed, relishing the memory.

In the back room, the sound of a timer went off. Juniper looked between the back room and the long line of people. "Thalia!" Juniper called, collecting the customer's money, "Can you get that? They're going to burn!"

"I'm a little busy!" Thalia called back, balancing a tray of teas and coffees, ready to be brought to the customers waiting patiently for their fix.

Juniper turned to her boyfriend. "Can you please get that? You know how hard it has been here ever since Miranda quit." Grover reached over and squeezed her shoulder.

"Sure," he said, giving her a reassuring smile. He grabbed his crutch and walked into the back room. Juniper smiled and turned back to the customer she was serving.

"You two make an adorable couple," the old lady in line said. Juniper's smile grew wider.

"Thank you so much. You're really sweet," Juniper told her. The lady handed her the money and walked over to a seat where Thalia would bring her the coffee.

Katie walked into Juniper's Tea and Coffee, breathing in the fresh smell of coffee beans. Every coffee shop smelled the same. This shop was different than The Flying Shoes in appearance, however. This coffee shop had mostly earth tones, with accents of dark, navy blue. There was a big chalkboard by the door and little paintings of trees and tree leaves and flowers decorated the walls of the room. The armchairs and couches were made of green leather and the counter was a cherry wood.

The chalkboard by the door said the words "This coffee shop is eco-friendly!" in big loopy handwriting. Underneath that title was all the listings of how they were environmentally friendly, including recycling, fake leather couches, and reusable cups. Around those words, however, were cute little drawings that Katie assumed were drawn by the customers.

Making her way over to the counter, Katie stood behind the two people in line, waiting for her turn. Katie started to observe the coffee shop more. There was a girl with short black hair serving a large assortment of drinks to the different customers sitting in their seats. She was wearing a pine green apron that had the words "Juniper's Tea and Coffee" in big white letters. Katie watched as the girl weaved around the many chairs and tables, passing the drinks out to the grateful customers.

The girl at the counter had wavy orange hair that flowed down her back. She seemed to have pinned a flower to her hair. She too was wearing a pine green apron. The girl had freckles that covered her nose, shoulders and arms, which were made visible by her sleeveless dress. Katie wondered how only two girls could manage a coffee shop this big and this popular. As the last person left the register, Katie walked up to the counter.

"Hi!" the girl chirped, "What can I get you?"

"Actually, I'm here because I heard you guys were hiring," Katie said. "Would it be alright if I spoke with the manager?" The girl's eyes widened in excitement.

"That would be me!" the girl said. She held out her hand. "I'm Juniper, the owner of this coffee shop." Katie reached over and shook Juniper's hand.

"My name is Katie Gardner."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Katie. I must say, you could not have come in a better time. I was just talking about how we were a bit short on staff," Juniper said. "You were the girl that emailed your resume to me, right?"

"Yes, that was me. I am gkatie65," Katie said. Juniper started pointing her finger at her.

"I must say, you have a very impressive resume, Katie. Did you really work at a bakery for five years?" Juniper asked.

"Yes, I did. I started in high school and went on through college," Katie spoke in her 'interview voice'.

"That's good. You can make a lot of pastries, right?" Juniper asked. Katie nodded. "Good, good…" Juniper said. She had reached into a bag and pulled out Katie's resume, reading it through. "Well, Katie," Juniper said, "I see no reason as to why you cannot have the job." A grin spread on Katie's face.

Just then, the door to the back room opened and Grover hobbled out, trying to balance his crutches with a tray of pastries. He set the tray on the counter and wiped his brow. As he turned to the register, he saw Katie and froze.

"Hey Grover," Katie said nonchalantly. Grover hesitantly made his way over to the two girls.

"Hi… Katie," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"I just hired her," Juniper said, proudly.

"What are you doing here? Did the job interview go well?" Katie asked, concerned. Juniper turned to her boyfriend.

"Job interview? I thought you were perfectly happy in-"

"No! Honey, I am! It's just…" Grover stammered.

"Honey? Grover, are you dating Juniper?" Katie asked.

"Yes, I am. Can you please not tell-"

"Not tell who?" Juniper asked, putting her hands on her hips. "Who are you hiding our relationship from?" Grover put his hand on his head and started chewing his lip.

"No one, sweetie. It's complicated. Can I just borrow Katie for a second?" Grover asked Juniper. Grover walked past the divider and made his way to the couches, motioning for Katie to follow.

* * *

**WOW! Long chapter! What's Grover hiding? What does he want to talk to Katie about? What the heck is going on? I was going to write more, but then I looked at the word count and was like, "Whoa! I'm stopping this here! So please, Review and tell me what you thought of it. Smiles!**

**~xhiddendreamx**


	3. Ruined Friendships

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

Katie followed Grover over to a couch in the corner of the room. They were a few chairs away from the sitting area where a majority of the customers were. Grover slowly eased into the couch and motioned for Katie to sit in the seat beside him. His back was towards the register; however, Katie was facing it. She saw Juniper, in the corner of her eye, staring the two down.

Just as Katie sat down, Grover whispered, "Do not make any expressions." Immediately, her face molded into a blank stare. From the corner of her eye, she could see Juniper cross her arms.

"Juniper looks suspecting…" Katie said, her eyes still blank. Grover hastily looked over his shoulder and found Juniper staring at them. He gave a quick wave to her and turned back.

"Perhaps the blank face isn't good. Maybe… just smile. You can do that, right?" Grover asked, twiddling his fingers. Katie's face morphed into a smile. Honestly, she thought Grover was being a bit ridiculous. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his antics.

"I can do that," she confirmed. "Now, why did you drag me over here?"

"Um, we can't tell them about this," Grover whispered. Katie caught herself halfway into make a confused face. Instead, Katie kept on the happy façade and grew her smile. Katie watched as Juniper shook her head and turned away from them.

"Tell who about what?" Katie asked, finally dropping the fake smile. She massaged her cheeks as Grover hastily turned around to look at his girlfriend.

"We can't tell our friends in The Flying Shoes," Grover said, "We can't tell them about our relation to this coffee shop."

"And why not?" Katie asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms. _Is there some rivalry going on between the coffee shops?_ Katie thought. She then dismissed the thought. _Please. That only happens in fiction, _she told herself.

"Smile!" Grover hissed, upon seeing Juniper turn their way again. Katie rolled her eyes, but still followed his direction.

"The two coffee shops are rivals," Grover said, taking a pause- as if he was letting a big bomb drop and she needed time to process the hugeness of the situation. _Okay, _Katie thought, _So I was right. "_Do you think that two independent coffee shops in the same general area _wouldn't_ end up competing for customers?" Grover asked. Katie looked around the coffee shop she was in. It was bustling with people. They were laughing, chatting, and some were conversing with the girl named Thalia. "The Flying Shoes despises Juniper's Tea and Coffee Shop. Obviously, since Juniper's is more popular. This coffee shop mostly thinks that The Flying Shoes is an annoyance."

"They're both trying to run each other to the ground," Katie realized. Grover nodded. "And Juniper's is awfully close to succeeding." Grover nodded again.

"If our friends find out that you work at Juniper's and that my girlfriend is Juniper… well, first off, they'd be furious. They'd see our relations as a betrayal," Grover said, wringing his hands together. Katie swore that she saw a bead of sweat trickle down the side of Grover's face. "Second, they might not be our friends for much longer. The entire group would abandon us… and I'd be on my own again," Grover whispered. Katie raised an eyebrow, noticing her slipup. She contemplated on whether or not she should confront him about it. Deciding against that, Katie shook her head.

"That's crazy! They wouldn't be _that _melodramatic. It's just a job! No one would be stupid enough to ruin a friendship- especially one between you and them- just because of this coffee shop," Katie protested.

"You don't know how much The Flying Shoes hates Juniper's. If you did, you would see that they would actually stop associating with us!" Grover said. Katie's mind quickly flew to the face of her apartment neighbor.

"What about Percy? He's your best friend!" Grover started playing with his rasta cap.

"I don't know about Percy! I'm fairly certain he wouldn't abandon me, but… but the others might pressure him and…" Grover's voice started shaking. Katie put a hand to his shoulder.

"What about Travis? A-And Connor, of course," Katie said.

"They're the worst," Grover simply said. Katie's hand limply fell off his shoulder and she looked down. _Great, _she thought. Katie couldn't understand as to why she got upset. Travis barely even knew her! She could hardly say that they were friends.

"Does Juniper know?" Katie asked. Grover nodded and Katie looked up from her hands.

"She only knows that I'm best friends with Percy. She doesn't like it, but she knows that I've been friends with Percy long before I even met her." Katie sighed and leaned back against the couch.

"Wow, this is complicated," Katie said, "I guess we agree that we'll keep this a secret." Grover used his crutches to get up from the couch.

"Agreed," he said, already heading back to his girlfriend.

Katie sat on the couch, unsure of what to do. Katie knew that she didn't want to quit this job. She also knew that her and Grover's secret wouldn't stay hidden- like most secrets don't. Would she risk her 'friendship' just for this job? _I just met these people today, _Katie thought, _I can barely even call them my friends. Why should I risk my job for people I don't even know? _Katie sighed.

_The problem is that I really do want to be friends with them. And I don't want Silena to be mad at me. Out of all of them, I'd say Silena is the closest to being called a 'friend' of mine. And Travis… He's annoying. But he's pretty much my second almost-friend, too. And we're apartment neighbors-_

"You alright?" a voice said, cutting off Katie's train of thought. Katie looked up to see Thalia standing in front of her. Katie smiled.

"I think I'm fine," Katie said. She then stood up. "I'm Katie Gardner, new employee here." Thalia's face lit up in recognition.

"Oh yeah! Juniper just told me that she hired someone! I'm Thalia, old employee." Katie held out her hand and Thalia shook it. Katie noticed that Thalia didn't give out her last name, Katie didn't pry though.

"So, um Thalia? What are your work hours?" Katie asked as they both started heading for the counter.

"7:00 AM to 12:30 PM," Thalia said, not missing a beat.

"Isn't that the busiest time of the day?" Katie asked, imagining how many people would be flooding into the shop in the morning, begging for their daily coffee fix.

Thalia shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose so. But, morning shifts get paid the most," she said adding in a wink. Katie gave a smile and Thalia snickered. "It's really not that bad. The people here are really nice and though they can be a _bit _demanding, they tend to treat us well because we're the ones supplying the caffeine." Katie nodded. "Have you gotten your hours yet?" Thalia asked, setting her empty tray on the cherry wood counter.

"Not yet. I haven't even gotten my apron yet," Katie said.

"Well, if you happen to be stuck with the morning shift, it's not that much of a hassle," Thalia said as she reloaded her tray with drinks. Once she was done, she gave Katie one more smile and walked off.

_Okay, _Katie thought, _Thalia is really nice. I like her._

"Katie!" Juniper called from the register. "Here is your apron," she said, throwing it around Katie's neck. And here is the employee rule book- basic stuff. No biggie." Katie nodded taking the booklet from Juniper's hands.

"Anything else?" she asked.

"Yes! You can start now, right?" Katie nodded. "Great! From now on, your work hours will be from 7 AM to 12:30 PM. I need you to bake fresh pastries every morning. In fact, I live just upstairs so if you want to come in earlier to start heating the oven and prepping things, that's fine with me," Juniper told Katie as she walked over to her side of the counter.

"Alright," Katie said. "I guess I should get started." She pulled open the door to the back room/kitchen and started tying the apron around her waist.

"Oh Katie! Grover is in the kitchen so if you can call him out here, that would be great," Juniper called.

Katie entered the kitchen and found Grover waiting in front of the oven. "How much longer?" she asked, causing him to jump and knock one of his crutches to the ground.

"Uh, two more minutes," he said.

"Well, I can take over from here. Juniper is asking for you," Katie told him, walking over to the kitchen counter. It was big and floured down slightly. Sitting in the corner was a big recipe book, already opened up to a page.

The kitchen had plenty of room in it. A stainless steel refrigerator stood tall and wooden cabinets containing ingredients surrounded it. In the middle of the kitchen was a big metal table. Despite being surrounded by the big, empty kitchen, Katie felt very much at home.

* * *

Katie was sure to sneak her green apron inside her bag before she entered her apartment building. After she and Thalia got off work, Thalia suggested that they go and have lunch together. They spent hours bonding and getting to know one another. Katie got home at around 4 in the afternoon, but not before making more plans to meet Thalia for dinner a few hours later.

"I'll introduce you to some of my friends," Thalia had told her. She handed Katie a small piece of paper. "Meet me at my apartment at 6:30. Maybe after dinner, we can all catch a flick."

Katie walked up to her apartment door and rustled through her bag to get her keys. She unlocked the door and threw her bag down on the kitchen counter. Walking into the living room, Katie let out a scream at what she saw.

"TRAVIS!" she shrieked, putting a hand on her heart. "How did you get into my apartment?" Travis was holding a big bowl of chips on his lap and was lounging on her couch. On the coffee table was a laptop, currently playing a movie.

"Oh! Hey Katie," Travis said, throwing another chip in his mouth. Katie stomped over to where he was sitting and put her hands on her hips, staring down at him.

"How they heck did you get into my apartment?" Katie asked, "Did you pick the lock or something? And where did you get these chips?" Katie asked, prying the bowl from his fingers. "And where did that laptop come from?"

"One question at a time," Travis told her calmly, putting his hands behind his head. "And I came in through the fire escape," Travis said, "You really shouldn't leave your window open like that. Who knows what might crawl in when you least expect it." Katie rolled her eyes exasperatedly. Travis stood up and took the bowl of chips from her hands and collapsed back onto the couch.

"Travis!" Katie protested, dropping down on her knees to pick up the chips he spilled onto the carpet.

"To answer your next questions, I brought the chips and my laptop over," Travis said, "I figured that since you don't have any friends, we could eat junk food for dinner and veg out on the couch, watching movies." Katie stood up and threw the chip crumbs away in the garbage. She walked back to Travis' side and glared at him. His proposal could've been borderline-sweet if he had just worded it correctly. The way he said it made it seem like she was a loner with nothing to do, and he was taking pity on her!

"So what do you say?" Travis asked, "Superhero movies or Disney movies?"

"Well, despite me not having _any friends_, I don't need your charity," Katie said, picking up his laptop from the table and shoving it into his chest. "And I actually have plans tonight anyways." She pulled Travis off of the couch and pushed him to the open window.

"Fine," Travis muttered, "I was just trying to be nice."

"Oh, how thoughtful," Katie said sarcastically, "Bye." She then slammed the window in his face.

Katie put a hand on her forehead and sighed, making her way back to the couch. Falling down, she leaned into the cushions and propped her feet up on the coffee table, avoiding the bowl of chips Travis had set down before Katie kicked him out. _I can't believe him,_ Katie thought. She didn't like how he automatically assumed that she had no plans, or that she hadn't made any new friends. It's like he doesn't think that she's likable enough to be friends with!

_Well, _Katie thought after a few minutes of cooling down, _I guess what he did was pretty thoughtful. He did offer to sacrifice his evening to hang out with me. I guess it was his way of trying to be friends?_ Katie turned back to her closed window, suddenly regretting rudely pushing Travis out of her apartment. "Oh goodness," Katie whispered. She then groaned and threw her head back. "I am a horrible person. I am… a horrible person. I-I even took his chips!" Katie said, nudging the bowl of chips with her foot. She then put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "And watching Hero movies and Disney musicals would've been really nice…"

Sighing, Katie stood up from the couch, accepting the fact that she had probably shattered the chance of her and Travis ever having a friendship. She walked to the bathroom and brushed her teeth and hair, getting ready from dinner with Thalia and her friends. Hopefully she wouldn't screw those friendships up too badly. Katie glanced at her phone. 5:53. She didn't know how far Thalia's apartment was from hers, so Katie decided that it was better to be early than late.

* * *

After taking a cab to Thalia's place, Katie found out that it was only about a ten minutes. She paid the cab driver and he drove away. Katie stood on the sidewalk in front of Thalia's apartment building, unsure of what to do next. She was early. Should she go inside? But what if Thalia wasn't ready? If she stayed out here, Thalia might look outside her window and wonder why Katie was sitting there on the sidewalk curb. Katie then decided that she would go inside and offer her services if Thalia wasn't ready yet.

Katie walked up to the apartment Thalia told her and knocked. There was a shuffling of feet and the door opened to reveal Thalia in her Juniper apron.

"Katie! You're early!" Thalia said, surprised. She opened up the door more so Katie could come in.

"Yeah, you see, I didn't know how far your apartment was from mine. I hailed a cab and it turns out that the trip was about four minutes in a car! I can walk to your apartment in ten minutes! Anyways, when I got here, I wasn't sure if I should just come in or if I should wait outside. I mean, if I just waited outside, that would've been weird," Katie said, her words getting faster and faster. _Oh god, _Katie thought, _Stop talking! Katie, stop talking!_ "However, I was unsure if you were done setting up or cooking yet. I wasn't sure if you were one of those people who didn't like people coming early before you were ready, because _I'm_ like that. So I guess since I came early, I will help you with whatever is left-"

"So you're here to help!" Thalia said, cutting Katie off- summing up her ramblings into one sentence.

"Yes," Katie nodded, slightly out of breath.

"That's great! Oh, just saying, you're not the only one." Thalia led Katie to the kitchen where a tall blonde boy stood over the oven, pouring batter onto a pan. "Katie, this is my good friend Luke."

The boy turned away from the oven and walked over to Katie, holding out his hand. "Hey there," he said. Katie took his hand. _Luke? _She thought, _Where have I heard that name before?_ She picked her brain trying to find an answer, but found nothing. _Great, _Katie thought, _This will haunt me for the rest of the night._

"What are you making?" Katie asked.

"Pancakes," Thalia said, "I absolutely love them."

"She does. I've known Thalia for so long and there wasn't one time when she didn't ask for pancakes," Luke said, flipping the pancake over in the pan.

"Can you help me set the table?" Thalia asked Katie. She put a stack of napkins in Katie's hands.

"Um, yeah," Katie said. Thalia led her to the dining room where they would eat.

After finishing all of the food and setting the table, Thalia's other friends started to arrive. Once everyone sat down, Thalia began to introduce everyone.

"This is my friend Zoë," Thalia said, motioning towards the girl that sat on Katie's left. She had long dark hair that was in a braid. On her head was a silver headband. She had this sharpness and regal-ness to her that made Zoë look very intimidating. "She works at Olympus Magazine," Thalia added.

"What?" Katie asked, turning to her, "You work at Olympus M?" Zoë nodded stiffly, as if she was slightly ashamed of her job choice. "That's amazing! Working at Olympus M is my dream job!" Katie gushed, "What section do you work at."

"Animals with Ms. Artemis," Zoë said. She relaxed slightly when Katie told her that she wanted to work at Olympus Magazine.

"You've already met Luke," Thalia said, moving down the line of people, "This is Bianca and her little brother Nico." Bianca had her black hair covering half her face. She was looking down at the table cloth, smiling politely.

"Hey," Katie said to her, "I'm Katie."

"Hi," Bianca said in a hushed voice.

"I'm Nico," said the boy sitting next to Bianca. He looked a lot like his sister. The only difference between them seemed to be that Nico was a lot happier and open than Bianca was.

From dinner, Katie found out a lot about Thalia's friends. She learned that Thalia and Luke moved here together for college. Bianca was currently unemployed, eager to find a job somewhere. Nico was still going to Jupiter University, the local college in Campton. The person that Katie was interested the most in was Zoë, but she clammed up. She talked the most about her job at Olympus Magazine, which Katie was happy about. However, whenever Katie brought up the topic of family, or anything beyond her job, Zoë shut up. Katie learned that Thalia and Luke both lived in the star-studded California, on the other side of the country. When Luke came here, he left his father and his crazy mother at home. Thalia said that it was only her mom that lived in California. She didn't mention her mother anymore.

"So, how are the facilities in Olympus Magazine?" Katie asked.

"It's great. There are thirteen floors, one for the twelve sections of the magazine and the top floor is reserved for only the twelve executives," Zoë informed.

"Wow," Katie mused. Oh how she _so _wanted to work there!

"Well," Thalia said, standing up, "I guess we're all done. Wanna go catch a movie?" She started clearing the plates off of the table. Everyone nodded. Luke stood up also and did the same.

"There is a new superhero movie out. Does that sound alright?" he asked.

"Yeah! Superheroes!" Nico cried, jumping out of his seat. A cold chill rested through Katie's stomach. _Superhero movies or Disney movies? _Travis' words echoed through Katie's head. _I am a horrible person, _she thought.

"Great," Bianca muttered, "Let's go."

"Actually," Katie said, standing abruptly in her seat, "You guys go ahead. I have something I need to fix- at home." Thalia shrugged.

"Sure. See you at work tomorrow," she said, waving goodbye.

"Yeah," Katie said, getting her things, "I will see you. It was nice meeting you all." Katie then left the apartment building and ran back home, slipping on the ice and snow two times.

* * *

When she got back to her apartment, she took the stairs, three at a time. By the time she got to her apartment, she sent a hasty glance at the Stolls' crib, praying that Connor wasn't home. She went inside and set her things down. She changed into comfortable pajamas- a T shirt and pink sweatpants. She went to the bathroom and put her hair in a ponytail and out of her face. Walking back into the living room, she found the bowl of chips on the coffee table. Holding it against her hip, Katie opened the window to her fire escape, stepping outside to the late-afternoon air.

She took a deep breath when she realized how high up she was. She shivered. Looking over to Travis' window, it was open with curtains hanging over it. She cursed under her breath when she realized that Travis' window wasn't over the fire escape. How was she supposed to get there? And most importantly, how did he do it last time?

The fire escape had a thin layer of snow on it, which covered another thin layer of ice. Katie took a deep, calming breath and climbed over the fire escape railing. Katie got a good grip of the bowl of chips and spread her legs out, propping her foot on Travis' window sill. It was cold, sinking her barefoot into the snow on Travis' window sill. Slowly, she let go of the fire escape railing and moved her hand so it was holding onto Travis' window. Katie leaned over and balanced the bowl of chips on the window sill- so she could use her other hand to help her get inside.

Once she slipped into the Stolls' dark living room, Katie retrieved the bowl of chips from the window sill and decided to look around. The lights were off in the kitchen and the bathroom. Katie started to walk down the hallway to the bedrooms.

Katie arrived to a closed door where the light coming from inside could be seen in the crack underneath. Katie slowly opened it, careful not to startle anyone inside. When the door was opened wide enough so she could slip in, Katie saw Travis laying on his bed, deeply engrossed by a movie on his laptop. In his ears were red earbuds. Katie flicked on the bedroom lights, which caused Travis to look up from his movie.

"Katie," he said, sitting up on his bed, "How did you-"

"Same way you did," Katie said, sitting down next to him, "I brought your chips back." Travis' face turned slightly pink, and Katie wasn't sure why. She looked down at what she was wearing. She wasn't showing a lot of skin or anything. In fact, Katie probably looked a lot worse than how she usually did. Travis was wearing a purple Jupiter University T shirt and plaid cotton pants.

"Thanks," Travis muttered, pausing his movie and taking out an earbud.

"Look," Katie said, putting a hand on his arm. Travis flinched. "I'm sorry for being so rude. I can be a real pain sometimes. You were just trying to be nice and I took it the wrong way."

"Yeah, I was!" Travis said. Katie ignored his cocky remark.

"Yeah. You were… and I'm sorry. I just- don't want you to hate me. Is… the invitation still open?" Katie asked, rubbing her arms from the cold. Travis turned the laptop towards her.

"Only if you like _Princess and the Frog_," he said, handing an earbud to her, "Connor is asleep and I don't want to wake him."

"I love _Princess and the Frog,_" Katie said, making herself comfortable on the bed. Travis moved his blanket over to her so they could share.

"You cold, Evangeline?" Travis asked her. Katie gave a short giggle and nodded, lying down on her belly next to Travis. He got up and turned the lights off, crawling back under the blanket. He started the movie.

* * *

**HEY! I'm on a roll! Three story updates in less than two days? Dang! So, I guess that means I'm out of my writer's funk. I just… LOVE WRITING! **

**Gosh. So while I was writing this story, I just got so many future plans that I want to do! I'm so excited! I cannot wait until I finally get to write them!**

**So, considering the long list of things I want to do in this story, I think this will be my next major fanfiction story I will try to focus on… including Something Beautiful and Flaws (though it's almost finished).**

**So… yeah. Not the last you've seen of any of these characters! Keep reading, Remember to Review, Smiles!**

**~ xhiddendreamx**


	4. First Date

**Hello! I'm not sure what else to say but I have another chapter of Coffee Beans... but you guys already knew that, so I'm going to let y'all read.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO**

* * *

After a long day at work, Katie trudged over to her apartment complex. Her neck was wrapped up in a wool scarf Kayla, her friend from Indiana, made her. Katie's brown hair was dotted with snowflakes, masking the actually flour in her hair. It was the first day of December, so Juniper called most of the employees in early to discuss what to do for the Christmas season. While Juniper was talking to the older employees, like Thalia, about new drinks and pastries to add to the menu, newer employees, like Katie, were put on decorating duty. Even though Katie had been working at Juniper's for three weeks, she was still considered a new employee. They had to take down the autumn decorations and replace them with tinsel and snowflakes hanging from the ceiling. They also had to wash the chalkboard by the door and add new "winter" themed drawings. The new employees also had to decorate the walls with stockings and replace most of the mugs with Christmas and holiday themed ones. Basically, the newbies had to do all of the hard work while the older employees argued on whether to put peppermint in the Frappuccino's or have it be optional.

After the new employees were done decorating the shop, most of them went home to grab a few more hours of snooze time. Katie, however, had to stay and serve cranky customers at rush hour, all while keeping a smile on her face. She needed the tips, after all. While Juniper didn't usually put Katie on register duty, because of how vicious some customers got in the morning, today was an exception. Juniper and Thalia were still trying to sort out the details of some event they were doing in the coffee shop, Katie had to work the register, get the pastries cooking, and serve and make the drinks.

During her time at the register, the people weren't as rude as she thought they would be. Especially this one blonde guy that waited to order for ten minutes, while Katie was handing out the drinks to other waiting customers.

"I'm am so sorry," Katie apologized, sliding over to the register, "What would you like to order?"

"I'll just have a lemon tea, just to keep it easy for you," the guy said. Katie tapped in his order and looked up to thank him. The boy had honey blonde hair and light blue eyes. He looked about her age, if not a few years older. His skin was tan, which was strange since it was the wintertime. He smiled at her and Katie got a glimpse of his pearly, white teeth.

"You can order more, if you'd like. I'm going to be in a frenzy whether you take it easy on me, or not," Katie said. The guy raised a blonde eyebrow.

"Are you trying to get me to pay more?" he asked.

"Oh gosh! No! I am so sorry," Katie said, panicking. _This has got to be some sort of infringement in employee rules, _Katie thought. _And if not, this has got to be some infringement on etiquette rules!_ I will be right back with your lemon tea. Please excuse-" The guy raised a hand, stopping her. _And now I seem pushy, _Katie thought.

"I'm kidding," he said, shooting a smile, "But it's fine. I have to go record soon and a lemon tea is all I need." Katie walked over to the hot water kettle and grabbed a green mug. Pouring the water in the mug, Katie looked behind her shoulder. They blonde haired guy was still there. Katie wondered why he wasn't taking a seat. Usually, Katie would take a few orders and then hand them to the waiting customers. Shrugging, Katie went back to making his tea.

"What are you recording? Are you a singer?" She asked, making conversation.

"Singing, guitar, and piano. Just basic things," the boy said nonchalantly.

"Right," Katie said, nodding. She took a lemon slice and plopped it inside the mug. _I can't do any of those things. _"My friend, she records her own songs, too."

"Really?" the guy asked, "What's her name? Would I know her?" Katie smiled and grabbed a tea bag, placing it inside the mug.

"No, I don't think so. She's from Indiana. I'm pretty much the only person that has heard her music," Katie said, grabbing a coaster and walking back to the register. She handed the guy his tea and waited for him to leave or take a seat. Instead, he stayed there, staring at her expectantly.

"Am I getting this tea for free? Or…" he asked, holding a five dollar bill.

"Oh, right!" Katie said, smacking her forehead. _So that was why he stayed to talk with me!_ Katie thought. "I'm new at the register, and as you can tell, I'm not that good at it." Katie laughed awkwardly as she took his money and gave him the change. The guy took the extra money and placed it all in the tip jar.

"You're doing fine," he reassured her, "It was nice talking to you." Katie didn't say anything for she was serving another customer. After fifteen more minutes alternating between the back kitchen and the front room, Juniper hopped in at Katie's aid. She and Thalia spent a lot of time discussing… who know what, so Katie had already worked a few hours past when she was supposed to clock out.

Anyways, it was a hard day at work. All she wanted to do was eat some cereal and maybe invite Travis over to watch a movie. Just as Katie stepped into her apartment building, Katie saw Connor at his mailbox. Looking down, Katie saw her green Juniper apron and realized that she forgot to take it off. Bolting out of the room and into the snow, Katie ripped off the apron and shoved it deep into her bag. Out of sight from Connor, Katie composed herself and tried to calm her heart from the mini heart attack she just had. Stepping back onto the concrete and shaking the snow off of her boots, Katie tried to look as casual as possible as she tightly gripped her bag and prayed that Connor didn't see Katie in her Juniper's Tea and Coffee Shop apron. When she stepped inside, Connor side eyed her and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Katie, did you just run outside?" he asked. Katie walked up beside him and unlocked her mailbox.

"Uh, nope. Not me. I just got here," Katie said. She grabbed her mail and closed the mailbox. As she looked over Connor's shoulder, his hands were on his mail, but they were just flipping through them. In fact, Connor wasn't even looking at his mail. He was shifting his gaze from the door and the stairs. "Waiting for someone?" Katie asked, looking at the empty staircase. Connor glanced their surroundings then cleared his throat.

"I'm on a stake-out," Connor said. Katie raised an eyebrow.

"People actually do those?" Katie asked sarcastically. "Where's your newspaper and sunglasses?" Connor rolled his eyes and pouted.

"Please, Katie. Do you know how obvious a guy reading a newspaper and wearing sunglasses would be?" Connor asked.

"Well, it's also kind of obvious since you've been standing in front of your mailbox for three hours," Katie added.

"We've only been doing this for two hours. Travis and I plan to switch every hour and a half. That way, people won't get suspicious."

"But you and your brother look like the same person," Katie said. Connor furrowed his brows in thought.

"Ooooh," he finally said. Katie leaned up against the mailboxes and crossed her arms.

"And why are you even on a stake-out in the first place?" Katie asked. Connor leaned in towards her.

"So, The Flying Shoes just got news of a new employee at Juniper's Tea and Coffee Shop. You've probably never heard of that place. It's unpopular and it sucks," Connor said, adding in his totally _unbiased _opinion, "We don't get along, it's a long story… _anyways,_ we heard that there's this new employee and that she lives in our apartment building!" Connor waited for some sort of reaction out of Katie. Feigning surprise, Katie threw her arms up.

"Wow. Small world!" Katie said, currently panicking inside. Katie wondered as to how they got that sort of information. Katie remembered her and Grover's conversation from weeks ago, talking about how the Stolls absolutely resented Juniper's and anything related to them. Katie felt the color slowly leave her face. Gripping her bag tight, Katie felt the need to write in her notebook. Whenever Katie was feeling distressed or in despair, she just broke out her leather-bound book and wrote a paragraph or two. Katie felt as if she was transferring her emotions from in her head and onto the paper.

"I know! Anyways, we've been trying to catch her in the act. Scare the competition, try to get her fired… or quit. You know, harmless things like that!" Connor said.

Katie's face paled even more. She tried to imagine what would happen if Connor did catch Katie walking inside with her apron. He'd probably be shocked at first, and then she would deny it. But no lie could cover up the blaringly obvious fact that she worked for their hated enemy. Connor would definitely tell Travis, and Travis… Well, he would tell everyone else. Katie wanted to believe that Travis was better than that, but now that she got to know him better, she was positive that Travis wouldn't forgive anyone that was associated with Juniper's.

"You people are vicious," Katie said, shaking her head. _I can't believe they were trying to do that to me, _Katie thought, _good thing I didn't walk in with my apron!_

"Hey," Connor said, pointing a finger at her, "I resent that. Besides, you wouldn't believe some of the stuff they've done to us." Katie placed her hand on her hips, interested.

"And what has… Juniper's? Is that what they're called? What have they done to you?" Katie asked casually.

"Hey, bro! I got bored upstairs so I figured I might join you here!" Travis said, hopping down the stairs, skipping three steps at a time. "Oh, hey Katie!" Travis said excitedly. He was so full of light and energy. His curls practically bounced on their own.

"Hi… Travis," Katie said, slightly disappointed that Connor was interrupted.

"What's wrong?" Travis asked, stopping beside her, "You look tired." Katie looked up to see Travis' concerned face staring down at her.

"Yeah, I had a long day at work," Katie said.

"Ah," Travis said, "Writing all day does seem tiring." Katie nodded, playing along. She eyed him carefully, not sure if he was being sarcastic. He turned away from her and Connor handed Travis their mail. Katie let her suspiciousness dissipate. Travis wouldn't know about her job. How could he? Besides, Katie lied to Travis about her job:

"_Look… Katie?" Travis asked, trying to meet Katie's eyes. They were in the in the dark, sitting on Travis and Connor's sofa watching one of The Matrix movies. Katie sat curled up in a ball, staring deeply at the TV screen. Travis was sitting lazily next to her, with his arms spread out on the back of the couch. "Katie?" Travis asked again._

"_I'm trying to watch a movie, Travis. And if I remember correctly, tonight was your night to choose the movie," Katie whispered, not taking her eyes off of the screen._

"_I know… but this can't wait," Travis said. Katie sighed and turned to look at him._

"_What is it, Travis?" Katie asked. An intense fight scene was still playing in the background. Travis looked down at his lap._

"_I'm… sorry for being such a jerk. You know, when you first moved here. I may've been cranky or whatever, but that was no excuse. I'm also sorry for not being conscious about your feelings when I told you that you couldn't work at the Flying Shoes," Travis said, "Actually, I did know… I just didn't care… about your feelings, I mean. But I do now!" Katie stared into his blue eyes for a few moments, processing what he just said. Travis stared back at her, waiting for a reaction._

"_Was that really that important?" Katie asked, turning back to the TV screen. Travis gaped at her, astonished. He expected her to forgive him or add something to his apology. He didn't expect her to not acknowledge it at all. Travis just laughed it off and turned to the TV. The truth was, Katie panicked. After Travis finished his apology, Katie started to feel something bubbling inside her chest. It made her want to scream and laugh at the same time, and she wasn't sure why._

"_It is important. To me. I needed to apologize. We're friends now, and even though I know that you don't hate me- not anymore, at least- I just needed to get that off my chest," Travis said. Ooh, the bubbly feeling was back. Katie sighed deeply and unconsciously leaned in towards Travis. She breathed in his coffee bean scent and closed her eyes, giving up on the movie entirely. "So," Travis said, "Where do you work now, since you couldn't get the Flying Shoes job?"_

_Katie's eyes flew open. Oh geez, um… "I don't have… a job," Travis looked at her curiously, "Yeah, I'm not going to work. I'm just going to focus on my writing. I'm currently working on an article for Olympus Magazine. You know, to show my writing skill."_

"Yeah!" Katie said, being pulled back into reality. Eager to change the subject, she grabbed Travis' arm and pulled him towards the staircase, "Let's go upstairs. I am starving. Do you think we can meet Silena for dinner?" Katie held onto Travis' arm as they bounded up the stairs to their apartments.

Katie could feel her secret being revealed. For the past few weeks, she thought she was off the hook, and that she could manage a year in working at Juniper's without getting revealed. In one single moment, Katie found out that the Flying Shoes knew about a new employee (her). Katie's security crumbled.

"Uh, I'm not sure. Ow!" Travis cried as he tripped on a step, "Slow down, will you?" Katie unlocked her apartment and pulled him inside, sitting Travis on the couch.

"Call Silena. I need to um, use the bathroom," Katie said, shoving the phone in his hands. Travis watched her curiously as she disappeared into the hall. He then shrugged and punched in Silena's number, dismissing Katie's weirdness.

Katie slammed and locked the door. Taking a deep breath, Katie muttered reassuring words to herself. _You can do this. You can do this. This is ridiculous. Breathe in. Out. _Katie then remembered that she had her journal with her. Taking out the leather book and a pen, Katie flipped to a new blank page and started writing about how terrified she was of losing her… friends. As she wrote, Katie started to feel more confident. They wouldn't fine out. She had Grover on her side, and together, they wouldn't even give the Stolls the chance to figure out their secret. Slamming her book shut, Katie tucked it back inside her bag, purposely having it cover her green apron.

"Katie?" Travis said, knocking twice on the door, "Silena said to meet us at the Flying Shoes. She was talking about some sort of restaurant she wanted to show us." Katie flung open the door and smiled cheekily at Travis.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go," She said, fishing out her apartment keys and dropping her bag on the kitchen floor. Grabbing a pair of mittens from the coat rack, Katie and Travis left her apartment.

* * *

"Do you want to go inside?" Travis asked, "I'm freezing out here." He wrapped his arms around his body and flipped the hood of his hoodie up. Katie watched him in her winter coat, boots, itchy-wool scarf, white hat, pink earmuffs, and pink and white mittens.

"I told you that you should've gotten a heavier coat," Katie said, shaking her head. Travis' nose scrunched and he made a face.

"I told you that you should've gotten a heavier coat," Travis muttered, mimicking her know-it-all tone. Rolling her eyes, Katie hit Travis' chest for his immaturity. Travis scoffed and crossed his arms, walking inside the coffee shop, abandoning Katie in the snow. She huffed indignantly and followed him inside. Katie and Travis may be friends, but that doesn't mean they get along half of the time… er, most of the time.

Katie plopped down on the couch across from Travis and scowled when she saw his feet on the table. "It's your shop. You know that you're the one that going to have to clean that up," Katie said, nodding towards his dirty sneakers on the tabletop. Travis inhaled and slowly dropped his feet onto the ground. Katie smirked at her small victory and stared out the glass door, waiting for Silena and Clarisse to arrive.

"So, where do you think Silena's going to take us?" Katie asked.

"Dunno," Travis replyed, making it a point to look away from her. Katie rolled her eyes.

"Do you think we're going to Juniper's Tea and Coffee Shop? I heard they make great sandwiches and blueberry scones," Katie said innocently. Travis' eyes flew to Katie's as soon as she mentioned Juniper's. He hopped over the coffee table in a single bound and violently sat down next to her.

"No, Silena would never take us to _Juniper's," _he said, saying the word "Juniper" like one would say "nose picking". "Silena would go to that abomination, _ever. _Plus, those nature freaks don't know anything about pastries. I bet they wouldn't know the difference between a macaroon and a macaron." Travis said, raising an eyebrow. Katie rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Please. Even the students in the Level 1 Baking Class knew what the difference between a macaroon and a macaron was," Katie said.

"You took a baking class?" Travis asked, propping his arm up so he could turn and face her.

"Huh?" Katie asked. She then re-run her previous sentence in her head, the words sinking into her brain. "Uh, yeah. In high school. It didn't quite work out. I don't want to talk about it," Katie said, covering her face with her hands melodramatically. Her shoulders shook with fake sobs. _Ugh, Katie you are such a bad liar! _She chided herself. She felt Travis awkwardly pat her shoulder. When Katie lifted her head from her hands, she looked up to find Clarisse staring down at her.

"Wow, Stoll. Made a girl cry, and it's not even 2 PM," she said. Katie stood up from the couch and Travis followed her lead. "Well, Chris is waiting outside. We'd better not leave him out there for long, or else there might be one more elderly lady with one less wallet." Katie stared at her, alarmed. Clarisse was staring at the door with a hint of pride on her face. Unsure if Clarisse was telling the truth, Katie turned to Travis, to see his reaction. Travis didn't look surprised, but instead he was looking suspiciously at her. Katie gave him a hasty smile and headed for the door.

Chris indeed was outside, waiting in the snow. His hands were in his pockets and there was no hysterical old lady nearby, so Katie could only assume that Clarisse was joking. "Got any word from Silena yet?" he asked, turning towards the rest of the group. As if on cue, Clarisse's phone buzzed with a text message. She took it out and read off the text.

"I'm here already. Laugh out loud. Meet me at 2763 North Street. I'll be sitting at a table, so just ask for Silena, laugh out loud. Who laughs out loud two times?" Clarisse asked, reading Silena's text quite literally and unenthusiastically.

"Whatever, let's just go," Katie said. She then heard a groan beside her.

"Do you know how far North Street is?" he complained. Katie huffed and ripped off her mittens.

Placing her pink and white mittens on Travis' cold hands, Katie said, "Here. Now, hush up."

Clarisse snickered the entire way and Travis tried to hide his hands in his pockets. _Hey, _Katie thought, _My hands are freezing because of you! The least you could do is appreciate the mittens, bub._

* * *

As they walked to the address Silena texted them, the group passed by the Olympus Magazine skyscraper. Katie sighed dreamily at the building, imagining the thirteen floors Zoë described. Katie half-hoped that Zeus would walk out the building and they would run into each other again. She also hoped that when he saw her, he would give her the job on the spot, but hey, that wasn't going to happen.

A few paces past the Olympus Magazine building, the group passed another towering skyscraper, one about as tall as Olympus Magazine. Katie scanned the black-glass building and her eyes locked onto the glass double doors. On the door, there was a big, golden T. A chill ran down Katie's spine. The Titan. That building belonged to The Titan, the rival magazine to Olympus M.

The Titan's CEO is a man named Titan Kronos the second. Yeah, Titan is his name. The Titan was founded by Kronos II's father, Titan Kronos the first. He tended to go by his middle name, Uranus. There were terrifying stories about the things the two magazines have done to each other. There was once a scandal about The Titan stealing an entire magazine concept from Olympus M. There was another where Olympus M managed to hire one of Titan's own to their side. The former Titan now has her own section on Olympus M about beauty and love. Her name is Mrs. Aphrodite.

Anyways, the two are enemies, both trying to claw their way to the top. Currently, Olympus M is in the lead. However, the two magazines will not stop unless one disappears from the face of the Earth.

Just then, the black double doors swung open and a young lady clothed in silver walked out. She looked awfully upset and she stomped over to a sleek, black car parked at the curb. Katie squinted her eyes, sure that she'd seen the girl somewhere before.

"Zoë?" Katie whispered. _What was Zoë doing at The Titan?_ Katie asked herself, _Doesn't she work at Olympus Magazine?_ Katie watched as Zoë got in her car and drove it around the corner and out of sight.

* * *

"Welcome to The Golden Apple," a waiter with graying hair and a tuxedo said.

"We're looking for Silena Beauregard," Katie said to the waiter. Without a word, their waiter took them to an empty table in the back of the room.

"This must be a mistake," Travis said, "Our friend said she would be here."

"You're here for Silena Beauregard, right? She reserved this table and said it was for her four friends," the waiter explained as he set down the silverware and their menus. After he walked away, the four people looked at each other curiously.

"Did Silena set us up?" Chris asked.

"Oh yeah," Clarisse said, falling on her chair. "Well, Chris, it looks like we're on a date," Clarisse announced. Chris shrugged and sat in the seat next to hers. Katie side glanced at Travis. So, that meant that her and Travis were on a date. Travis pulled out a chair and motioned for her to sit down.

"Oh, what a gentleman," Katie said, sitting down, "I'm swooning." She dramatically cupped her head in her hands and batted her eyelashes at Travis. He laughed and sat down beside her.

"Is it just me, or are we… underdressed?" Travis whispered in Katie's ear. Katie scanned their surroundings and found that he was correct.

The restaurant was extremely fancy. There had to be at least three grand chandeliers on their floor. Their cloth napkins were folded into swans and their tablecloths were lace. The people in the restaurant seemed so posh, and a bit intimidating. The restaurant looked like a place where the rich and famous met for an annual "my horse is better than yours" get together.

"Do you understand this?" Travis asked, motioning towards the menu. Katie opened hers up and found all of the food choices were in French, German, or some kind of fancy English that was past Katie's vocabulary. Katie shook her head.

"I feel like we should leave, but Silena went through all the trouble of setting us up," Katie said. Travis nodded, still trying to decipher the menu. "Poor girl. Too bad this is a lost cause," Katie added, casually flipping through the pages. Travis looked up and gave Katie a peculiar look. It was a mix between hurt and… relief?

"Yeah, I mean, look at Clarisse and Chris," Travis said, motioning towards the couple across from them. Clarisse was picking the invisible food from between her teeth using a knife and Chris was sitting there with his arms crossed, sending quick glances at Clarisse. She did the same, and whenever their eyes met, Chris would make a face, crossing his eyes and sticking out his tongue. Clarisse would try to act tough, but the corners of her lips would curl up without her consent. Clarisse and Chris sure didn't seem like a lost cause.

Katie turned to look at Travis. If Silena thought that her and Travis had the same amount of chemistry as Chris and Clarisse… no. Katie shook her head at the thought. However, the unfinished sentence haunted the back of her brain. _Maybe Travis and I aren't a lost cause._

* * *

When their waiter came back, Katie and Travis already decided that they would close their eyes and point to something on the menu. If they didn't like what they got, they promised each other that they could eat off of the other person's plate.

"Excuse me," Travis called out, right before the waiter walked away, "Is this meal paid for?"

"Yes, sir," the man said. Travis clapped his hands together and smiled.

"Great! I'll have a Merlot for me and the lady," Travis said, pointing a thumb at Katie.

"Merlot. A fine choice of wine," the waiter simply said, then walked away.

Katie sighed and sat back in her intricately cushioned chair. The restaurant was awfully quiet. The only noticeable sounds were the snorts made by Clarisse when she couldn't hold back her laughter. The rest of the people inside were speaking in hushed whispers, glancing at their table every so often. Suddenly, there was a giant whoop from the left corner of the room.

"Here's your Merlot," the waiter said, bringing their wine in an ice bucket. After the waiter left, Clarisse reached over the table and grabbed the wine bottle from the neck.

"Wow, Travis! Fancy," Clarisse said. Opening the top off, Clarisse poured too much wine into each of their cups.

"To the first date," Chris said, raising his glass in the air, spilling a bit of his wine on the tablecloth.

"The first date!" Clarisse, Katie, and Travis echoed. Bringing the drink up to her lips, Katie smelled the tanginess of the wine. Closing her eyes, she took a big sip and sighed.

Another whoop rang through the restaurant. Opening her eyes, Katie craned her neck to see what was going on. Unable to see anything peculiar, Katie stood up from her seat.

"I'm going to use the restroom," Katie announced.

"Don't even think of me joining you," Clarisse muttered, taking another gulp of the wine.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Katie said, rolling her eyes.

Walking to the left corner of the room, Katie weaved passed nicely dressed people tittering about their jobs and how successful they were. When she reached the restrooms, Katie ducked behind the divider, separating the bathrooms with the restaurant, and peeked at the source of the excited cheers.

Two familiar faces popped into Katie's view. One of them was definitely Luke. Katie could see his blonde hair catching the light from the chandeliers. He was laughing alongside another girl. At first, Katie had no idea who this girl was. She was wearing a leather jacket and combat boots. Her hair was black with strands of blue hair.

"Thalia?" Katie whispered. She stuck out like a sore thumb. Luke was wearing a tuxedo, like most of the people in The Golden Apple. His hair was slicked back, and even though it was faint, there was a nude bandage on his cheek.

_How did Thalia get in a fancy restaurant like this? _She asked herself. She walked over to their table and tapped Thalia on the shoulder.

"Hey," Katie said, "What are you doing here?" Thalia jumped out of her seat and took a big sip from her wineglass. She blinked rapidly and gripped the back of her chair.

"Katie! Luke got a job promotion!" Thalia said, and then gave another excited yell. Luke lifted his glass, humoring her, and together they took a big sip. "Ahh." She shook her head violently and her newly dyed hair shook, falling in front of her face. _Shoot, _Katie thought, _What is Luke's job, again?_ From the three weeks she's known Luke, Katie never bothered to ask him where he worked.

"So, how long have you been here?" Katie asked, helping Thalia back in her chair. She tried extremely hard not to laugh at her friend's expense. Luke looked at his watch. Katie peeked over his shoulder and her eyes popped upon seeing his watch. _Where did Luke get that kind of money?_ She asked herself.

"Three hours." Luke's voice was groggy and he had a hand on his non-bandaged cheek. Katie was a bit hesitant to ask Luke about his injury. Luke slowly looked up at her and caught her looking at his cheek. His face immediately darkened and he looked away from Katie. When he turned to Thalia, his expression relaxed back to normal, but the grip on his wineglass was so tight, Katie was afraid he was going to shatter it.

_What was that? _Katie asked. _I've never seen Luke so… angry._ When Luke caught Katie looking at his cheek, his eyes narrowed, his nose crinkled, and he almost glared at her. Thalia didn't notice, but Katie was starting to feel a bit apprehensive. Nevertheless, seeing Luke's expression made Katie even more curious as to what happened to him.

"Let's go," Thalia said before Katie got a chance to get the question out. Luke set down his wineglass and helped Thalia up from her chair.

"See you later, Katie," he said, giving her a seemingly normal smile. Katie forced a smile back, but Luke had turned away and they walked out of the restaurant.

Walking back to her table, Katie shook her head, shaking the image of Luke's face out of her head. She didn't want to think of that right now. And besides, she was on her "first date" with Travis. Their food had arrived and Chris and Clarisse were close to finishing theirs.

"Not hungry?" Katie asked, as she sat beside Travis. The plate in front of him was untouched, like hers.

"I was waiting for you," Travis said. Katie smiled and that caused Travis to return it. Across the table, Clarisse rolled her eyes at them. Chris looked awfully amused at her expression.

"Well, let's eat," Katie said, taking a bite of her- something green and mushy.

* * *

"How well do you think it went?" Travis asked. Katie glanced at him.

"What went?" she asked.

"Our date." The two walked inside their apartment building and started walking up the stairs. Katie thought for a moment, teasing him.

"I'd say it was pleasant," Katie said, unwrapping her wool scarf from around her neck.

"Pleasant?" Travis asked, clearly not satisfied with that adjective. "Was it not magical, life-changing, or exciting?"

"Well, maybe not _life-changing, _but it was a nice experience," Katie said. Travis put a hand to his chest.

"You pain me, Katie." She snickered at his expression and he smirked. "So… who were you talking to, back at the restaurant?" Travis said, quickly changing the subject. Katie stumbled slightly, but Travis got a hold of her arm.

"I see her sometimes when I'm writing. You know, when I'm in the park," Katie said.

"Isn't it cold?" Travis asked. Katie bit her lip and fished her brain for an answer.

"Yeah, but you know us writers. We have to get our inspiration somehow," Katie said, nudging his arm.

"Crazy," Travis muttered under his breath. Katie's jaw dropped and she elbowed him.

"This is coming from the guy who climbed out his four storey window to break into my apartment," Katie reminded him.

"Well, I'm _dangerous _like that," he said, growling in her ear. Katie shoved him away and stopped at her apartment door. She took the keys from her pocket and unlocked the door. Turning around to say goodnight to Travis, she realized that he stopped with her.

"Can I help you?" she asked. He didn't say anything for a while.

"Do you think the date went well enough to get a goodnight kiss?" he asked, moving in towards her. Katie smirked and put a hand on his cheek.

"I think so," she said, starting to lean in. "Too bad I don't kiss on the first date." Stepping inside her apartment, Katie waved to Travis and shut the door. After taking off her winter wear, there was a knock on her apartment door. Katie didn't need to open the door to know who it was.

"Go to sleep, Travis," Katie called out. She could hear his laugh through the door. Katie let out a smile herself. She felt a buzz in her body, unsure if it was because of the wine or something else.

* * *

**Yeah. That's it. Probably not my best one... but hey! I introduced The Titan! That's going to be important. Also, what's going on with Luke? Remember that I love your reviews!**

**~ xhiddendreamx**


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